Doubts and Blessings
by escalus01
Summary: Fate has just had the most embarrasing week of her life and would really like nothing more than to just curl up in a ball and stay there.  However on the bright side, it turns out even the humiliating events can have a positive impact on our lives.
1. Valentines Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha or any of the characters or locations or associated with it.

**Doubts and Blessings**

**Chapter I - Valentines Day**

She was alone on Valentines Day but right now that was just the way she wanted it.

Fate Testarossa Harlaown leaned against the headboard of her bed and hugged her knees to her chest. Her stomach growled but she didn't move, she would stay there until this feeling of absolute mortification was gone. It hadn't been the worst week of her life, it didn't even come close, but it had certainly been the most embarrassing.

_Stupid teenage hormones, that dream didn't help either._

She'd known for some time now that her feelings towards her best friend had…changed? Grown? Whatever the correct term, the fact was she felt differently towards the girl than she had even a year ago.

It wasn't just a physical attraction either. Yes, Fate thought Nanoha was exceptionally cute and but she was also kind and generous and just plain nice. It was true she was about as subtle as a brick and could be incredibly naïve but she even founds these parts of her to be somewhat adorable. Still, over the last year she had been able to control her desires and keep her thoughts to herself.

However, over the last week, it was like she had been transformed into one of those chronically unlucky, harem anime leads.

First on Monday, despite her years of training and combat experience, she had somehow managed to trip over her own feet. On the way down she had instinctively reached for something to break her fall but had only succeeded in giving Nanoha a firm slap on the backside. The girl had squeaked rather loudly but had fortunately accepted it as an accident.

On Tuesday, it had been _Nanoha _who had slipped as they were exiting the classroom to begin their journey home. Fate had reached out caught her before she could hit the floor but Nanoha had looked at her and Fate had suddenly forgotten where she was, lost in those deep, blue eyes that felt like an endless sky. Then the girl below her had whispered her name and it had sent a thrill through her body, the mere memory of it caused her skin to tingle even now.

It wasn't until Nanoha let out a low moan that she had been snapped from her daydream and realized that, during her rescue she had managed to grab her best friend's breast. Not only that, but she unconsciously began to massage it!

She had felt the heat explode in her cheeks and just knew her face must have been a most spectacular shade of red. Once again the brown-haired girl had been willing to accept the whole thing as an accident, even the rubbing. She had even smiled at her, with a faint tinge of red colouring her own cheeks. In that moment Fate had wanted nothing more that to lean in and kiss her, both for being so understanding and for being so very beautiful.

Wednesday hadn't been too bad, she'd simply gotten a nosebleed while watching Nanoha during a P.E. lesson and she'd been able to cover that up easily enough. Still, whilst sitting on the side-lines watching the other girl get all hot and sweaty wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of bloomers, she had been forced to discreetly cross her legs.

Thursday she had been caught openly staring at her during class. She hadn't even realized she was doing it, one minute she had been copying notes from the board the next she was listening to the teacher yell at her while her gaze was on her friend's back. The man had even cracked a joke at her expense (thankfully he hadn't realised just how close he had come to the truth), and Fate had sunk back into her chair wishing she could disappear.

As she had slouched there red-faced, she had caught Nanoha giving her a weird look and had immediately panicked, thinking that her secret had been discovered, but after class things had been the same as always. Strangely this had left her feeling more on edge than ever.

Friday had been mercifully free of any embarrassing incidents and for some reason she had taken that as a sign it was safe for her to invite her friend to spend the night at her house. She didn't know what she had been thinking.

Nanoha had slept in her bed of course, they always slept in each others beds whenever they did a sleepover. Only this time Fate had been entirely too aware of the girl sleeping next to her, she had felt her heart pounding violently in her chest and her blood burning beneath her skin. Some part of her imagination had been sure that the girl would wake and be suddenly aware of the dirty imagery the other half of her imagination just wouldn't stop conjuring up. The fact that her best friend and secret crush had been facing in her direction and she could feel the girl's warm, soft breath on her neck, only made things worse.

Needless to say, she hadn't slept very well that night.

Then Saturday, yesterday, the most embarrassing, mortifying, humiliating part had happened.

* * *

Things had started as usual this morning the two of them had risen groggily from their bed (Fate had needed some insistent poking from Nanoha), washed and were in their underwear about to but on their uniforms when it happened. For the second time that week Fate's normally excellent balance had deserted and she had fallen whilst in the process of trying to pull on her right sock. She had crashed into Nanoha on the way taking her friend with her.

Now she was face down in something that smelled…actually she wasn't sure how to describe it. It was kind of repulsive but enticing at the same time and held a sort of musky sweetness. Then she noticed the feel, it was soft but smooth like flesh covered by cotton… Suddenly her brain crashed to a halt and she felt her blood turn to ice.

_Oh no, please…_

Slowly, oh so slowly and with a growing sense of dread, she had firmly planted her hands to either side and pushed herself up, whilst forcing herself to open her eyes. Sure enough she discovered that her new-found clumsiness had sent her tumbling, face first, into the place were her best friends legs joined together.

If she had thought the heat under skin had been something before, this time it was like the burning intensity of a thousand suns. She could _feel_ her skin turn red and her heart begin to race faster than she had ever experienced before. A faint itch began to develop at the back of her nose, and a faint tingling sensation made itself known between he own legs.

God, she felt like a pervert.

The last thing she wanted to do in that instant was look Nanoha in the face but her body had decided to turn traitor. She had fought with all the willpower she could muster but gradually her head risen until she was looking the other girl in the eyes.

What she saw there made her mind go blank. There was a storm of emotion in her friends rich, blue eyes, she saw embarrassment and confusion and others Fate didn't dare even attempt to identify, just in case it turned out to be her own wishful thinking. Her friends face was also flushed a bright crimson, creating a look that Fate thought was incredibly cute but at the same time so very hot.

By that point her self-control had shrunk to almost nothing and she caved to her desires. With an agonising slowness she had crawled her way up Nanoha's body until their faces were only inches apart. Then she began to lower herself, fully intending to claim the girl's lips with her own; the way Nanoha whispered her name only adding to her need. She didn't notice then and hindsight wouldn't help her later but the brunette had begun to tilt her own head forward in order to meet her.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) the door to her bedroom had suddenly sprung open.

"Girls, are you two almo…" Lindy trailed off upon catching sight of her daughter and her guest lying frozen atop each other. She continued to stare at the two of them blankly, with a faint blush developing on her own cheeks, for what felt like an age before speaking again:

"Hmmm, I can't say I'm surprised but I'm not sure you girls have time for that." She turned to leave but paused and added, "Well Fate-chan it looks like you and I are going to have to have a talk when you get home from school. It seems I've put this discussion off for too long." And with that the two of them were alone again.

They turned to face each other again and a pregnant pause hung in the air before they both scrambled to their feet. It turns out having ones mother walk in on you like that, is quite the effective mood-killer.

"N-Nanoha…" Fate began, grasping for an excuse, any excuse.

"Hey Fate-chan, let's finish getting ready or we'll be late." And her friend began to do just that. If not for the faint blush that would persist until the two of them left the house and the fact that Nanoha refused to look at her until they reached the school, wouldn't even know anything had happened.

* * *

She hugged her knees closer and bit down on her lower lip. She hadn't been to talk to Nanoha for the rest of that day; in truth she had been trying to avoid her. She had been so stupid, why had she done that? She had probably ruined the first real friendship she'd ever had and it hurt. It felt her stomach was caught in a vice, her throat felt like it was swollen and her eyes stung.

To make matters worse, last night she'd had a dream. In that dream it had been her and Nanoha on the floor, the door had not suddenly burst open, Lindy-mama hadn't suddenly interrupted them and they had…her body burned just thinking about it.

There was a knock on her door but she ignored it. There was only one person she wanted to seen right now and she wouldn't be calling again any time soon, if ever.

"Fate-chan?"

After a frozen moment Fate sprung off her bed like lightning and grabbed at the handle, yanking the door open. On the other side stood Nanoha, a genuine smile on her cute face and a wrapped parcel in her hands. The sight made her feel funny, like the pain in her throat was soothed but the vice on her stomach tightened. She could barely suppress the desire to fling herself forward and hug her.

"Na-Nanoha…"

"Nyahaha. Your mum let me in." The enthusiasm was genuine but that laugh…was Nanoha still nervous around her? That was probably to be expected though, after all she had basically sniffed the girl's crotch and then proceeded to try and make out with her. Honestly she was amazed that her friend still trusted her enough to come up to her room.

"Do you want to come in?" Fate asked.

"Nyahaha," that laugh again, "I can't sorry. Mum wants me to go straight back after I drop these off. The shop's really busy today." She offered the wrapped package and Fate accepted it. "See you tomorrow Fate-chan, happy Valentines day." Nanoha cheered as she bounded back down the stairs.

Fate didn't know how long she stood there, just staring at the place her friend had been before she closed the door and walked over to her bed. Trying very hard not to let her imagination run away with her (after all this was probably just a piece offering) she carefully began to unwrapped her present.

When she had finished she felt her knees go weak and she had to quickly sit on her bed before they completely gave out. It was chocolate. Nanoha had given her chocolate on Valentines Day. Nanoha had given her what was clearly _home-made, honmei chocolate on Valentines Day_.

Did this mean Nanoha knew how she felt? Did it mean she felt the same way? There was no other reason to give these kinds of chocolates to a person on Valentines Day after all. She felt the vice on her stomach give way to be replaced by an airy weightless feeling.

Her tongue darted out and ran along her lips, their was no way this was just a piece offering, you didn't hand honmei chocolates out to people you were just friends with. So Nanoha really did like her back, maybe? She sighed, there was the doubt again but this might be the only chance she would ever have to change their relationship. It would be a gamble, a big one, if she was wrong she could end up ruining things between them completely. She sunk back into her bed covers; she would need to think this over carefully. If she decided to go through with it, she would need Lindy-mamas help…

She picked a piece of chocolate out of the box and popped it into her mouth. It tasted good.

* * *

First I'd like to ask everyone if the rating's okay, someone in real life made a comment about the scene at the begining of the flashback, so just say the word and I'll raise it.

So how badly did I mangle the characters? It's okay, you can say it, constuctive criticism is important after all. So on that note please read and review.


	2. White Day

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha franchise and am making no money from this story.

* * *

Chapter II – White Day

As Nanoha walked the steps that lead up to the school roof she could feel a weird sensation in her stomach. It was like it was being twisted into knots but at the same time had that light, airy feeling that was sometimes referred to as having butterflies. There was also a curious sensation in her chest, like it was itching on the inside. In her left hand she held a small piece of plain, white paper and even though she had only received it that morning it was very creased. This piece of paper was in fact a letter, and it was because of what was written in this letter that she was on her way to the roof.

Dozens of thoughts danced around in her head some that sent the butterflies flapping faster, some that caused the knots to tighten. All of them revolved around her blonde best-friend. She knew she would make the journey back down in tears the only question was, what would those tears mean?

When she reached the door at the top she placed her hand against the metal bar but then her stomach lurched suddenly and she hesitated. Her heart began to pound harder and faster and she could almost feel her blood racing in her veins. She took several deep breaths and with some mental effort push the door open. The sudden influx of light shocked her eyes and she raised a hand to guard against it. After several moments her eyes adjusted and she could see again.

There standing against the chain-link fence surrounding the rooftop was the one who had called her out here. The one who was currently her best friend and in a moment, Nanoha hoped would become her girlfriend. Despite her nerves she felt a smile spring to her face when she saw her and felt the same happy sensation she always felt at the sight of the other girl. She bounded forward with a spring in her step, that hadn't been there before.

"Fate-chan!"

The sun was shining merrily in the sky as she slowly she walked the path to school, her head bowed in thought. It had been exactly a month since she'd given Fate-chan those chocolates and in all that time nothing had happened. Her best friend had stopped acting quite so nervous around her and things had gone back to normal more or less, so she knew she had at least managed to avoid ruining their friendship. Still, when she had given Fate that gift she had expected something...more.

Had she been wrong?

No, she didn't think she had, she definitely hadn't imagined that morning in Fate-chan's bedroom. The way her friend had _crawled _up her body so very slowly, it had been like torture. The mixture of emotions in her rich, crimson eyes as she had leaned in for the kiss and the feel or her warm breath on her cheek. Most of all Nanoha could never forget the way she had felt as she lay there; in that moment she had wanted nothing more than to kiss her, she had needed it. She had been completely aware of what she was doing when she raised her own head to meet Fate-chan's. Her body had tingled all over and she could have sworn her heart was about to burst. Then the moment had been ruined and the flame had died down, although it didn't go out.

The rest of that day hadn't been nearly so nice, Fate-chan had spent the rest of the day looking half-terrified and half-ashamed. She watched her, stealing glances whenever she could and the sight had made Nanoha's heart ache. She'd had a longing then that had surpassed even the the longing of that morning, she'd wanted to run over to her friend, wrap her up in her arms and whisper soothing words in her ear. She'd have done anything to make Fate-chan smile again. Unfortunately she'd had a sinking suspicion that she was the problem, or at least part of it. After all she had been the one to chicken-out, turn tail and run. Although it was not because Fate-chan had almost kissed her, no it was because she had wanted it so very badly and the strength of that want had scared her.

That night she had lain in bed unable to sleep, a dull tingle had been running over her skin and her stomach had felt hollow. Her thoughts kept turning to Fate-chan and every time she imagined that look of misery on her best-friends face it had made her chest hurt. But what could she do to make her feel better?

As she had stared at her bedroom ceiling trying to come up with a plan, memories of the last week came to her:

That incident on Monday when Fate-chan had smacked her soundly on the bottom. At first she'd freaked out, thinking some pervert had somehow managed to sneak-up on her. Then she'd spun around and seen Fate-chan sitting on the ground, she'd been about to ask what had happened but froze when she'd noticed how red her friend had gone and how wide her eyes were, she had looked completely mortified. She had sprung back to her feet almost instantly and apologised in a rush of words, Nanoha hadn't been able to make out everything but she had gotten the gist. Fate-chan had looked so embarrassed Nanoha had made sure to tell her it was an accident and not to worry about it. The blonde had looked so relieved and Nanoha had released a breathe she hadn't even known she was holding.

Strangely some small part of her couldn't help being a little saddened, as though she was disappointed that it had only been an accident.

Then Tuesday...oh God Tuesday. She had tripped, she didn't know on what all she knew was that her foot had connected with something hard and she had gone tumbling right into Fate-chan. Somehow the two of them had managed to land lying atop each other with her back pressed to Fate's chest. It hadn't taken Nanoha long to realise there was a light pressure on her own chest, she had looked down to find at some point during their fall Fate-chan's hands had somehow reached around to cup her breasts!

She had opened her mouth to speak but something had held her back, something deep inside her had not wanted to move from that position. Then Fate-chan's hands had started..._moving _and a violently surge of electricity and heat had rushed through her body; a ragged breath escaped her lips, carrying Fate's name. But the other girl hadn't stopped and Nanoha had felt something growing at the back of her throat shortly before a moan had reverberated in the air, a noise that had been low and _hungry_. She wouldn't realise that noise had come from her until later that night; and when she did she was both shocked and embarrassed. Her blush had been so bright that her mother had sent her straight to bed after dinner, fearing she may be ill.

She hadn't been able to concentrated on her homework that evening, instead she had kept replaying the days events in her head. She had enjoyed it, she couldn't deny that but why had she enjoyed it? Was it just..did she just like being touched there; or was it because it was Fate-chan who did it? She thought she would have freaked out if someone randomly groped her breasts but she trusted Fate-chan with everything. In fact it was getting harder and harder , almost impossible really, to imagine a day where Fate-chan wasn't there.

It was that night, that for the first time, Nanoha wondered how she felt about her best friend and every night that week she would lay in bed and ask herself the same question.

The next day during P.E. Nanoha had felt someone staring at her. Normally this wouldn't have been that unusual, after all she was playing it was to be expected, except this had felt more like a pair of eyes boring into her back even when she wasn't actively participating. She looked around to see who it was and it hadn't taken her long to spot Fate sitting on the bench, all flushed and squirming. She'd actually wondered if her friend was ill before noticing the peculiar way her legs were crossed and how tense she seemed.

In that instant a wicked idea occurred to her and she had to fight hard to suppress a grin, she had decided to tease her friend a little. Nothing to obvious, she didn't want everyone to know; just pushing her chest out a little more than was strictly necessary when she took a deep breath or that time she had made sure Fate was directly behind her when she'd bent over to pick up the ball. When she'd sent a small smile her way, the blonde had had a glazed far-away look in her eyes. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she had gotten more than a small amount of satisfaction from the blush on Fate-chan's cheeks.

The day after Fate-chan had been caught staring at her in class, the teacher had even made a joke about it (teachers weren't supposed to behave like that!). The look on the girl's face afterwards had made Nanoha's stomach sink like a stone, she'd actually felt a compulsion to rush over to the her desk and hug her. The thought had crossed her mind that maybe she'd gone a bit too far with her teasing the day before.

That Friday lunchtime Fate-chan had invited her to spend the night. This wasn't anything abnormal, the two of them had slept over at each others houses a lot over the last few years, but for some reason that time had felt different for her. Fate-chan had been blushing ever so slightly and had obviously been struggling to maintain eye contact, Nanoha had actually felt her heart skip a beat. Thankfully the bell had rung at that moment so Nanoha had only given a quick yes before rushing to her seat to conceal her own flame-red cheeks.

It hadn't taken much for her to fall asleep that night, for some reason lying next to Fate-chan just made her feel so comfortable. Then the next morning _that_ had happened.

There couldn't be any doubts now, she liked Fate-chan like that. Oddly the thought didn't seem to bother her like she'd thought it might, or like it might have bothered other girls. She had wanted, more than anything, to kiss her when they had been lying on the ground. She had blushed at Fate-chan looking all cute and found herself caring about the girl's well-being more than almost anyone else. For the last week when she wasn't busy thinking about something important she was thinking about her. After the incident on Tuesday the girls mere touch sent a spark through Nanoha's body that made her feel...nice. No, not just nice, exhilarated, _alive._

If she knew her best friend she was probably beating herself up over the events of past week. Nanoha needed something to cheer her up and let her know she liked her back.

She'd took a look at the display of her phone and noticed that it had gone midnight, she was about to place it back on her desk when she noticed something else; the date. It was the fourteenth of February, Valentines Day. She'd laid the phone down slowly as she'd thought to herself, she had a plan.

She'd trudged into the entrance hall trying her best not to feel depressed. However when she opened her shoe locker, something pink slipped from inside and softly touched down on the ground at her feet. She'd picked it up and read, which had lead to her being here on the roof at this moment.

She felt her heart begin to pick-up its pace as she moved towards her best friend. It started gradually at first before growing more and more frantic, eventually racing as though she had just run a marathon. She did her best to bring it back under control, trying to discretely take slow, steady breaths. Somehow she had the feeling that Fate-chan had noticed anyway. As she came to a stop next to her best-friend she noticed that the girl had both hands hidden behind her back.

"Fate-chan..." she whispered.

"Nanoha." came the reply, this close Nanoha could see that her cheeks were bright red. "I...want to give you this." The blonde brought her hands out from behind her back and presented a white box, "It's not as good as yours but please..."

Nanoha took the box and gently pried off the lid, inside were around a dozen small, white chocolates. They were home-made judging by the irregular shape but still Nanoha felt moved that the other girl had actually gone to the effort to do something she had probably never done before. She felt the tightness in her chest release and suddenly she felt all light and airy as though at any moment she could just float away. At the same time a pressure was building behind her eyes and it was all she could do to hold it back.

"Thank you, Fate-chan."

"And there's something else." Fate reached into her coat pocket with her right hand and when she brought it out again t was holding a white ribbon. Nanoha was struck speechless, a white ribbon meant that...

Slowly Fate reached towards Nanoha's head, stopping briefly to look her in the eyes as though seeking permission. When Nanoha inclined her head she continued, untying the binding holding the ponytail on the side of the brunette's head together before redoing it with the ribbon in its place.

With that the damn broke and Nanoha could no longer hold back the tears. She sprung forward wrapping her arms tightly around the taller girl in a fierce hug and burying her face in the crook of her neck. In return Fate wrapped her arms lightly around Nanoha's middle and rested her head lightly on top of hers.

The two would stand there sharing that embrace and talking to each other in whispers for a while longer, before drying their eyes and heading home.

* * *

Well that took much, _much_ longer than I had intended and for that I apologise.

So was it good? As always constructive critiscm is appreciated, so pleas read and review.


	3. A First Anniversary

**Disclaimer: **I do not own MGLN.

**A First Anniversary**

A year, it had been almost a whole year!

Takamachi Nanoha bounded up the steps towards her girlfriend's apartment, excitement coursing through her veins, causing her nerves to tingle and providing her with the extra energy that seemed to pour from her. In her hand she had a small parcel wrapped in decorative paper and sealed with a red ribbon. It was Sunday they had the whole day off, which meant they could do all sorts of romantic stuff together. It was still a couple of days until Valentine's Day but that fell on a week day so they wouldn't be able to do much together and this was the closest Sunday to the actual day, so it would have to do. Besides, this could be their last Valentine's Day on Earth; not long ago she had taken an exam for a promotion within the TSAB, if she got it she'd have to leave for Mid-Childa.

She tried to restrain herself as she reached the door to the apartment where Fate-chan still lived with Lindy, her brother Chrono had moved out a while ago to live with his girlfriend, Amy. There had been no shortage of teasing from Lindy, Hayate or herself when he'd made the announcement, even Fate-chan had joined in.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm herself she reached up and rang the doorbell, it was only a couple of seconds before she could her movement on the other side. When the door opened however, it wasn't her girlfriend but Lindy who was standing on the other side; she did her best not to look disappointed.

"Oh, hello Nanoha. I take it you're here for Fate?" she asked, though it wasn't really a question.

"Mmm, we're supposed to be going out."

"I see," Lindy chuckled, "well that explains that." Nanoha just looked at her in confusion.

"Well Fate was just so full of energy during her training last night, she seemed so excited, I guess now I know why." The brunette did her best to fight down a blush at the teasing look the older woman gave her.

"Unfortunately she managed to exhaust herself," Lindy continued, "so she's still in bed. Nanoha, why don't you go an wake her up for me an I'll make the three of us some tea?" With a quick nod and an "Okay" Nanoha removed her shoes and moved with barely restrained energy at a brisk walk towards Fate's room.

When she reached the next door she knocked on it lightly and whispered:

"Fate-chan, are you awake?" When she received no answer after two seconds she decided that was sufficient cause to enter.

Slowly she pushed open the door and stepped into the room and caught sight of her girlfriend soundly asleep on the other side of the room. She placed the package she'd brought with her down on the desk near the door gently, before turning and creeping towards the bed on her toes. Once she reached it she quietly sank down to her knees and leaned over to place her mouth next to the other girl's ear.

"Fate-chan, Faaaate-chan," she sang softly, "It's time to get up." She pulled back just in time to see the corner of Fate's lips twitch and grinned.

"Oh my," she said dramatically, "Fate-chan's in such a deep sleep, what should I do? In storys it's always a charming prince who awakens the beautiful princess with a kiss. Hm, but we don't have a charming prince, oh well maybe the cute peasant girl will do?" With that she leaned forwards and gently pressed her lips against Fate's, when she pulled back she found Fate was now definitely smiling but other than that was making no other movements. The smile on Nanoha's face suddenly became quite mischievous.

"Oh dear, it didn't work. Maybe I need to try something a little more drastic?"

With that said she lifted up the covers of the bed slightly and crawled underneath them, settling herself so that she was straddling her girlfriend, next she brought up her hands and began to undo the buttons of Fate's pyjamas. She had only finished undoing the first button when she felt a light pressure around her wrists and looked up to find her lover's deep, red eyes locked onto her.

"N-Nanoha," she whispered urgently, her cheeks almost as red as her eyes, "what are you doing? Lindy-mama's home!"

"Oh, you mean Fate-chan wasn't really asleep?" Nanoha replied, slipping back out of bed.

"You knew I wasn't."

Nanoha simply smiled at her.

"You've been taking too much advice from Hayate." Fate sighed.

"Nyahaha, it's Fate-chan's own fault for being greedy."

"It's greedy to want another kiss from my girlfriend?"

"I was going to give you another kiss," Nanoha said, her mischievous smile still firmly in place.

"I meant on the lips! On the lips!" Fate's face had by this point turned a brilliant shade of scarlet, causing Nanoha to giggle, which in turn caused Fate to throw one of her pillows at her, hitting Nanoha square in the face.

"Far too much time with Hayate," Fate mumbled, a small smile creeping onto her face, "Now, stand in the hall while I get changed."

"Mou, but I want to stay and watch." Another pillow, but this time Nanoha managed to duck out of the way, hurried back towards the door and slip out into the hallway, almost crashing right into Arf.

"Lindy sent me to see if you'd managed to wake Fate up." Nanoha was suddenly apprehensive; she didn't trust the tone of laughter in the familiar's voice.

"She is," she replied, moving towards the kitchen.

"Good." Arf replied, "But just what was it you were doing that Fate had to remind you that kissing was done on the lips?" It was Nanoha's turn to go scarlet as the implications of what Arf had said and the tone she had used sunk in.

"We-we were just messing about." She protested.

"Yes," replied the familiar, somehow managing to express a naughty smile despite her dog snout, "And I remember the last time you and Fate "messed about" in her room, the two of you smelt like…hormones for the rest of the day." Nanoha spluttered and tried to say something but Arf spoke over her:

"It's like you told Fate that time, you're loud. Lindy Fate's up," she finished as they entered the kitchen, and Nanoha quickly took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Oh that's good." The older woman said as she placed Nanoha's tea down in front of her and pretended not to notice the girl's blush.

"Thank you," Nanoha mumbled. For some reason what Arf had said had stirred a memory of a couple of months ago in her mind and as she sat there drinking her tea she allowed herself to fall into it.

* * *

"_Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan!" the voice of Hayate Yagami rang through the clear, morning air._

_Nanoha and Fate turned to find the girl in question bounding towards them with an expression on her face that could only mean the two of them were in for some of the other girl's merciless teasing. The two of them raised there hands to return her enthusiastic greeting and slowed their pace so she could catch up; they still had plenty of time to get there before the first bell rang. Within a minute the girl was walking beside them attempting to catch her breath._

"_Hayate-chan, good morning," said Nanoha._

"_Good morning," she returned. Nanoha waited for the inevitable jab at her or Fate's expense but it never came; instead Hayate just stared at them, still smiling that Cheshire cat grin. Nanoha prepared herself just in case Hayate decided to make a grab at her chest; although her friend hadn't tried that for almost seven months, ever since she and Fate had started dating, apparently that made it inappropriate in her mind. It didn't stop her offering them "advice" however, and sending them lewd e-mails containing even more "instructions"._

"_Um, Hayate-san," Fate spoke up, clearly also having picked-up on Hayate's mood, "Do you have something to say?"_

"_Why, what make you ask that, Fate-chan?" she replied, in a tone that made the hairs on the back of Nanoha's neck stand up._

"_Well, you're looking at us funny."_

"_Oh, am I?" Hayate replied, bringing a hand up to her mouth in fake surprise._

"_Yes."_

"_Well you see, I had an interesting conversation with Arf-san yesterday." Nanoha could see Fate making a mental note to talk to Arf later._

"_According to her," Hayate continued, "The two of you are no longer virgins." Immediately colour erupted on both of their faces and the two of them all but screamed in unison:_

"_Hayate-chan!"_

"_Hayate-san!"_

"_Oh ho, so it's true!" Hayate crowed in victory_

"_You-but…" Fate spluttered, "Wait, how did Arf know?"_

"_Mou," Nanoha said, "It's Fate-chan's fault for being so loud."_

"_N-Nanoha!"_

"_Ohhh, so Fate-chan's a screamer?" Hayate said, sounding most intrigued by the subject, while Fate was looking increasingly mortified. "Come on Nanoha-chan, give me details, details!" Nanoha ignored her, she was all for teasing her girlfriend but that would be taking it too far and Fate was giving her the classic kicked-puppy look, there was no way she could resist that. The rest of the journey was spent with resisting her friend's attempts to drag more information out of her._

* * *

The date had gone well; the two of them had gone to the cinema and seen a film Nanoha knew Fate had secretly been wanting too see. After that they had gone to the Takamachi café for lunch, then they had gone to the mall to try on clothes (and they had actually bought each other something) and gone to a karaoke boot before returning to the café for dinner. After that they had gone for a stroll in the park and now the two of them were sitting on a park bench, watching as the sun set behind the horizon, their hands intertwined together. Slowly Nanoha leaned over and rested her head on Fate's shoulder, wiggling it a bit to make herself more snug. Later the two would return to the Takamachi café for a third time, Fate would be sleeping over at Nanoha's tonight. Above them were the branches of a cherry blossom tree, whose flowers would before to long start to bloom.

"Comfortable there?" Fate said, a touch of laughter in her voice.

"Mmm," she replied, "Fate-chan's so warm." She chuckled a little as she saw Fate's cheeks turn slightly red, still way too easy to tease. The two drifted into a comfortable silence for a while before Nanoha spoke again:

"This might be our last Valentine's Day on Earth."

"Yeah." Came the eventual reply.

"If we pass then we'll be living on Mid-Childa from this summer."

"Yeah."

"I've never lived on another world before."

Fate turned to look at her girlfriend as if contemplating her response before eventually replying:

"Then I guess I'll have to teach Nanoha about the different customs on Mid-Childa until she learns everything."

"Thank you Fate-chan."

"It's okay," Fate replied, beginning to massage the back of her girlfriend's hand with her thumb, "you did the same for me." Again a comfortable silence washed over the two of them and was this time broken by Fate.

"I had fun today."

"Mmm, me too"

"I wanted to say thank you for everything you planned and for the chocolates this morning?"

"Fate-chan's being silly, she doesn't have to thank me." Nanoha giggled.

"But I want to," Fate replied, "I don't ever want to take you for granted… And I wanted to ask you something," she finished, seeming strangely hesitant.

"What."

"Well, since I'm going to be helping you get used to Mid-Childa anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to live together? At least until Nanoha learns her way around?" she finished, her face a brighter shade of red than before.

Suddenly Nanoha was sitting up straight and staring Fate right in the eyes.

"Live together?" she asked, "With you?"

"I-I can understand if you don't want to," Fate replied, looking crestfallen despite her words, "Maybe it was a stupid idea-"

"Of course I want to live with Fate-chan!"

"Really?" In response Nanoha swept forward and pressed her lips against Fate's before pulling away and reclaiming her spot on her girlfriend's shoulder; Fate looked blissfully stunned for a couple of moments before regaining her senses and resting her head atop Nanoha's.

"I guess that's settled then." Nanoha could only giggle in response.

"Should we go back now?"

"Just a couple more minutes," Nanoha replied.

"Alright."

* * *

**Author's note: **Some sappy Valentine's Day fluff from me.

Okay this fic was finished after the second chapter, however since this was set in the same continuity I decided it belonged here. _If_ there are anymore updates to this story they'll probably be standalone one-shots so this story will continue to be listed as "complete".

Oh, and for those who asked about the white ribbon from the last chapter. As I understand it if a guy responds to a girl's Valentine's Day chocolates by giving her a white ribbon on white day, it's something akin to a promise to be together.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it.


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